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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. face — part of the head
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — there
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bore — to tire
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. bore — to drill
  19. present — a gift
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — to point toward

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com